Honolulu Police Melt Their Own Guns, Worth $575K!

Second Amendment advocates are firing away at a decision by Honolulu officials to destroy $575,000 worth of perfectly good handguns in a move one critic called the “height of anti-gun stupidity.”

Some 2,300 Smith & Wesson 9 mm handguns, including at least 200 that are brand-new and in unopened boxes, were issued to the city’s police department. But with the 2,200-member force upgrading to lighter and less expensive Glock 17s, the guns were set to be permanently holstered. While it is customary throughout the country for departments to auction the guns to law-abiding citizens, including the police who once carried them, or donate them to another department, Honolulu opted to destroy them.

“Mayor Kirk Caldwell and the Honolulu Police Department agreed that they would not allow the guns to be sold to the general public and end up on the streets of Honolulu,” Honolulu Police spokeswoman Michelle Yu told FoxNews.com. “The same goes for selling the individual gun parts that could have been used to assemble a gun.”

Selling the guns, with mandatory background checks to ensure they were only purchased by legal owners, could have netted the city $575,000, according toHawaii News Now. Several police officers reportedly were interested in buying old service weapons for personal use, and the department has previously sold phased-out weapons to its staff, but this time opted to melt them down two weeks ago.

Yu said no other police departments were interested in the guns.

REALLY? Don’t you have to wonder, how hard did they really try to find other police departments that may have been intereseted in them, or is it just me?

“Law enforcement in American Samoa initially expressed interest in acquiring some of the guns, but there was a change in administration and the new administration is no longer interested,” she said. “The local sheriff’s department recently replaced their guns, and other county police departments (Kauai, Maui and Hawaii) are looking to replace their Smith & Wessons in the future.”

A representative for Smith & Wesson declined to comment, stating that the company does not provide any information regarding their customers in law enforcement.

Despite Yu’s claims, the Hawaii state sheriffs’ division – which uses the same gun manufacturer – told Hawaii News Now that no offer for a donation was made to them.

Hawaii’s Department of Public of Safety recently replaced its Smith & Wesson firearms with different SIG Sauer models and received a credit of more than $150,000 for trading in its old guns. But Yu said no trade-in discount was available and insisted “the only remaining option was to destroy the guns so they don’t end up on the street.”

REALLY? Are you kidding me?

Destroying working firearms, as well as valuable taxpayer property, was “the height of anti-gun stupidity and will not stop one criminal from getting a weapon,” said Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation.

“These guns in the hands of lawful civilians could provide an important means of self-defense, especially for low income people who can’t afford them,” Gottlieb said. “Or the sale of them could help pay for much needed law enforcement equipment to help keep the public safe.”

Who knew Honolulu had so much money, that they didn’t need at least a half a million dollars to support public safety for 1.4 million people! Go figure!

Any city the size of Honolulu could use $575,000, said Amy Hunter, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action.

“There is no reason why these firearms couldn’t be used by law enforcement or sold to law-abiding citizens, the proceeds of which could go to much-needed infrastructure, programs, training, etc,” she said.

So let me get this straight! Over 2300 guns were just melted down including 200 shining new guns!!! Many police officers were willing to buy back the guns. Some of these same officers, even told the city those guns still had value and should not be thrown away, but the city of Honolulu said basically “NAH! We don’t need no stinking guns!”

WOW! Is that UNREAL or what?? Taxpayers must be LIVID!! Either Honolulu’s economy from tourism and trade is booming OR someone is on a “sugar high”.

About Author

Nancy Hayes is a Digital Media Specialist and Conservative, Grassroots Activist.
Over the past 4 years - she has worked on 21 campaigns nationwide. She has been involved in several key elections, including Ted Cruz for President and Herman Cain for President . She has served in such positions as Social Media Specialist, Phone Bank Director, State Director of Volunteers, and Grassroots Activist.
Stay involved! Stay inspired! Stay educated!
#TeamJoe #PJNET #CruzCrew #GOHTeam

In 2008 my life changed when Barack Obama came into my front yard on a campaign stop. I asked him why he wanted to raise taxes, and he said that he wanted to “spread the wealth.” Since then, I have gained a national following as “Joe the Plumber” and now travel the country speaking and encouraging other everyday folks to get involved in the political process.